


Progress

by AwkwardTiming



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: A whole host of original characters, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Kent and BItty in a fake-ish relationship, M/M, Past Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann, pbj
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2018-09-09 16:45:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8900014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwkwardTiming/pseuds/AwkwardTiming
Summary: Bitty wakes up in Vegas. With Kent. A week after he and Jack agree to a break. Unfortunately, it seems that Bitty and Kent weren't exactly unnoticed the night before and the Aces' Management isn't thrilled.





	1. Shout Out to my Ex

Bitty slowly surfaced. A subtle shift of his head confirmed where he was. He closed his eyes, but rolled back onto his side and facing the other body. Opening his eyes again, he stared at his companion.

Kent’s eyes were open as he stared at the ceiling. Last night, with the exception of Bitty saying he and Jack had just broken up, Kent had been loose-limbed, relaxed. Now, though, he was tense, his jaw clenching and unclenching. He didn’t seem to be aware that Bitty was watching him.

Biting his lips, Bitty reached out and laid a hand on Kent’s arm. “Hey.” When Kent looked over, Bitty said, “I’m sorry if you didn’t want me to stay. I can go.”

Kent visibly relaxed. “No. That’s. You don’t need to go.”

Bitty nodded, relaxing deeper into the pillow under his head and shifting his legs around under the blanket that Kent had tugged over them. When it seemed Kent didn’t intend to say anything else, Bitty started to let his eyes drift back closed. He frowned at a series of insistent pings. “Z’at your phone?” he asked on a yawn.

“No,” Kent said.

Bitty opened his eyes to reach for his phone, which he’d left on the table. Kent’s eyes were closed, so Bitty reached over him to grab it, shaking his head. In the back of his mind, he wondered if it should feel weirder than it did to be hanging out with his ex’s ex.

He laid back, then turned on his screen, intending to see who was texting before he decided whether to actually read and reply to whatever it was. He had three texts from Ransom, two from Holster, and one from Jack. He decided to start with Holster’s messages – the first was a series of exclamation points, the second a couple of big eyed emojis. Bitty frowned and switched to Ransom’s. The first two were similar to Holster’s, but the third was a link to a twitter hashtag search.

Bitty clicked on it and felt himself blanche. He sat up and said in a slightly strangled, but thankfully not-panicked voice, “You may want to check your phone.”

Kent’s eyes opened and it was his turn to frown as he took in Bitty’s face. As Kent padded out of the room – Bitty’s memory helpfully supplying that Kent had left his phone on the counter in the kitchen after they’d both had a glass of water – Bitty went back to check Jack’s message.

It was a helpful, “Call me.”

On the one hand, Bitty didn’t owe Jack an explanation. That was the whole point of this, after all. On the other hand, they had been, and in many ways still were, friends and Jack might have some helpful advice.

Some helpful advice for what to do if you help accidently out a professional hockey player. As Bitty started to call, he heard Kent say, “Fuck!” and typed out a quick message to Jack instead.

EB: Awake. Will call in 5

JZ: OK

Jack’s response was almost immediate and that was … concerning. Bitty slid out of bed and headed back toward the kitchen. He found Kent in his living room, sitting on the couch, his head in his hands. Bitty watched him for a moment.

Clearing his throat, Bitty said, “Are you ok?”

Kent looked up, his personality in full evidence through the incredulous look on his face.

Bitty shrugged, “Do you need to call PR? Your manager? GM?”

Kent looked surprised.

Bitty waved it off, assuming it would eventually click to Kent that Bitty had spent two years dating Jack and wouldn’t be completely unfamiliar with how things worked in professional sports organizations and for players, “Did they already know?”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t…”

“Call them,” Bitty interrupted. “I need to make a quick call. And maybe put pants back on. You’ll be ok, sugar.”

Kent offered a tight smile, but nodded and turned his attention back to his phone screen.

Satisfied that Kent was taking care of what he needed to, Bitty returned to the bedroom. He snagged his pants from the chair he’d left them folded on the night before, but didn’t put them on. He sat on the edge of the bed and called Jack.

Jack answered on the second ring, “Hey, Bits.”

“Hi, Jack.”

There was an awkward silence until Jack said, “So… Kenny.”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, sort of. I’m sorry, Jack.”

“Huh? Why?” Jack sounded genuinely confused and something relaxed in Bitty’s chest.

“Um. I don’t know? It’s hard to see an ex with someone else and it’s gotta be worse if your ex is with a different ex?” Bitty didn’t mean it as a question, but it definitely came out as though he did. “Especially when there are pictures of it.”

“Oh. I was surprised, eh? But I can’t fault your taste. You ok, bud?”

“I … Yeah, I think I am, actually. My parents know. They won’t be thrilled when they see the pictures, but what I saw wasn’t that bad.”

Jack was quiet again. He cleared his throat and Bitty waited patiently until Jack spoke again, “So. This is awkward. I…euh. I love you. I know…Anyway. I love you. And that is separate from what I want to ask.”

Bitty closed his eyes. Lack of love definitely hadn’t been a contributing factor to their separating. “Jack, honey. Spit it out.”

“Kenny – Kent. He’s going to say he’s fine. He’s not. If you can – if he’ll let you – can you stay? He may try to tell you he doesn’t need you to, but he does – he will.”

Bitty nodded.

“Bits?”

“Oh. Sorry, yeah. Yeah, of course. I’ll do what I can.”

“Are you still there?”

“Yeah.”

“Is Kent?”

Bitty caught a movement in his peripheral vision and looked up, “Yeah.”

“Can I talk to him?”

Bitty met Kent’s eyes and mouthed _Jack_. Kent nodded. Bitty held out his phone and Kent took it with a small frown. Bitty offered an encouraging smile, then took his jeans into the bathroom. His bladder’s need of attention had finally fought its way through his mental somersaults. He heard Kent say, “Hey, Zimms,” as he nudged the door closed behind him.

Bitty took care of what he needed to, washing his hands then splashing water on his face before pulling on his pants. He gave himself a quick peptalk in the mirror before opening the door and wandering back into the room.

“Yeah. Yeah. Ok. Thanks, Zimms,” Kent said, looking up as Bitty leaned against the door frame. He ended the call and held the phone out for Bitty. Bitty crossed and took it, but didn’t move away. Kent scratched the back of his head and eventually said, “I’d offer to take you to breakfast, but the PR team is going to be here soon.”

Bitty nodded. “Do you have food?”

“Uh. Yes? I mean, I’m not sure what, exactly, but my grocery delivery was yesterday. I know there are eggs. Probably cheese.” He shrugged.

Bitty nodded again. “Ok. Go shower. I’ll put together food. When you get out, let me know if you want me to stay.”

Kent opened his mouth to reply and Bitty could see that Kent was going to tell Bitty that he didn’t need Bitty to stay.

“Just go shower, honey. We’ll talk about it when you get out.”

_X_

Out in the kitchen, Bitty filled a glass with water and drank it slowly, using the time to center himself, before setting about poking through cabinets to see what he could come up with. Not that he had experience with this exactly, but he’d found that food generally improved people’s moods and… that might be good.

He was pleased to find that Kent had flour, sugar, baking powder and a spice rack (and ok, yes, it was one of those ones that came as a pre-determined set, but some sort of spices was better than nothing and Kent, being Kent, had found a nice one). An idea started to form in his mind to make muffins. He’d do plain if he needed to, but he would almost bank on there being fruit in Kent’s fridge or freezer.

Opening the refrigerator, Bitty felt everything sort of click into place or settle in his mind. Kent had two carts of eggs, turkey sausage, tomatoes, broccoli, salsa, three kinds of cheese, and a good selection of fruit. Bitty grabbed the blueberries first, planning to make muffins while he decided what sort of frittatas he wanted to make. While he mixed the batter, it occurred to him that he didn’t know if Kent had a muffin pan.

He shook his head and finished the batter then poked through a couple more cabinets, ultimately finding both a loaf pan and a muffin pan. He quickly greased the pan with butter and filled it, sliding the pan into the pre-warmed oven. He grabbed the pineapple he’d seen in the freezer, the melon, a couple apples, and strawberries. Just as he finished rinsing everything, there was a knock on the door. He glanced back toward Kent’s room, but it sounded like the shower was still running, so he dried his hands and checked the peephole before opening the door to Jeff Masters, one of Kent’s teammates, who was standing there with two cups of coffee.

Jeff looked slightly stunned to find Bitty there, so Bitty offered his most polite smile and waved Jeff in, “Kent’s showering. I was just, um –” he waved back toward the kitchen. “I’m Bitty. Eric.”

“Hi. I’m Jeff, teammate and friend extraordinaire.”

Bitty offered a small smile and nodded. “Come on in. Kent’ll be out soon.” He hesitated a moment, then said, “I’m guessing you’re here for moral support.” He frowned. “If you’re here to yell at him or anything like that, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“What? NO. Why would I? No. I just thought he might, you know, need a friend or something.” When Bitty didn’t reply, Jeff said, “I, uh, knew. You know. That Kent wasn’t straight or whatever.”

Bitty nodded and went back into the kitchen while Jeff settled at the counter. “PR’s on the way over. I’m sure Kent’ll be glad to have a friend here.”

“So, what are you doing?” Jeff asked as Bitty dropped the last of the quartered strawberries into the bowl and mixed the fruit salad together.

“Making food. It’s still morning and food makes people less cranky.”

“Yeah, no. I mean… uh.”

Bitty raised his eyebrows, then turned the stove on to warm up the two pans he’d found. He’d decided to keep it simple – one tomato, broccoli, and provolone frittata and one salsa and cheddar. He’d put the sausage on once those were in the oven and the muffins were out. Better to leave the sausage as a separate thing in case there were any vegetarians in the group. As he turned back around, making quick work of the broccoli and tomatoes, he said, “As you said, Kent might need a friend.”

Jeff frowned. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think Kent was lamenting being single two days ago and you seem awfully familiar for a one night stand.”

Bitty whisked the eggs together then poured them into the pans, scrambled them about a bit, added the toppings, then responded. “One – I met Kent long before last night. Two, not that it’s any of your business, but I don’t think you can call it a one night stand if there’s no sex involved.”

“Oh.” Bitty was amused to watch Jeff’s cheeks flush. “Sorry, I…Sorry. So. What’s breakfast?”

“Blueberry muffins,” Bitty said as he retrieved them for the oven and slid the skillets in. “Frittatas, fruit salad, and turkey sausage.”

“Are you a culinary student or something?”

“Nah. I just like to cook. Used to do this sort of thing at the Haus.”

“Huh?” Jeff said, leaning over the counter to snatch a muffin out of the pan that Bitty had set on the counter.

“Hockey frat-house-type thing. I just graduated a couple weeks ago from Samwell.”

“You played?”

“Yeah, I was captain of our team last year.”

Bitty could see the moment that it occurred to Jeff that Jack had gone to Samwell and was glad that Jeff didn’t actually ask about it, instead saying, “What brings you to Vegas?”

Bitty put the sausage on as he told Jeff about the job in LA – a marketing/social media thing that he’d lucked into. This lead to a discussion of college and in short order they were exchanging stories about teammates, past and present, and laughing.

_X_

When Kent left his bedroom, he realized he could smell coffee and something baking and could hear Bitty talking to someone. Rounding the corner, he found Bitty in the kitchen talking to Jeff across the counter. Jeff who was, inexplicably, there and drinking coffee. At Kent’s counter.

Bitty looked over as Kent walked into the kitchen. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Kent replied. He’d intended to tell Bitty he could go back to his hotel and that he’d touch base after he met with PR, but seeing Bitty there, chatting comfortably with one of Kent’s teammates. He crossed to Bitty and leaned down slightly, saying softly enough that he could be sure Jeff wouldn’t hear, “Stay?”

He felt Bitty nod and pulled away. Bitty smiled up at him reassuringly. “I’ve got muffins, fruit salad, turkey sausage, and some frittatas… which I need to pull out.” He turned and did just that.

“So we get to eat?” Jeff asked.

“We?” Kent said as Bitty replied, “No. These’ll need to sit. And if you take another muffin there’ll be no more food for you, mister. Kent, honey, I’m gonna go take a real quick shower before people get here.”

Kent nodded and he and Jeff were both quiet as Bitty made his way down the hallway to Kent’s room.

Kent poured himself some coffee, then turned back to his teammate. “Dude. Why the fuck are you here?”

“Nice to see you too, asshole. And moral support. Though, maybe for the muffins. These are fucking amazing.”

Kent found himself reaching out and slapping Jeff’s hand as it reached for another muffin. “Bitty told you no.” And flushed when Jeff’s response was a full-throated laugh.

_X_

Back in Kent’s room, Bitty debated with himself for a short moment before poking through Kent’s closet for a clean shirt. He hesitated then grabbed a pair of Kent’s boxer briefs and a pair of Kent’s jeans. They’d be a little long on him, but their waist sizes were about the same and he’d rather not wear the pants he’d worn to the club the night before.

Bitty stripped his clothes off in the bathroom, folding them and setting them aside before turning on the shower. He washed quickly, borrowing Kent’s soap and shampoo, then toweled off just as quickly. He found gel for his hair sitting by the sink and used his toothbrush from the night before.

He thought about slipping his shoes on, but Kent had been barefoot, so he decided not to bother. He wasn’t sure exactly how Kent was going to play this to PR, but maybe making it look like it was at least not what Jeff had assumed – a one night stand – would help.

Bitty walked out as there was a knock on Kent’s door. He met Kent’s eyes and said, “I’ll get it.”

Kent nodded and as Bitty opened the door, he felt Kent come up behind him.

“Hi, y’all,” he said greeting the three people standing at the door. “Come on in. We’ve got coffee and breakfast for y’all. Kent, honey, can you go ahead and get plates out?” As Aces group came in, Bitty kept up a stream of chatter. “We’ve got some muffins, frittatas, sausage, fruit salad. All the right things to get a day off to a good start, huh? Jeff – would you help Kent? Did anyone want a mimosa? Kent, I’m betting you have champagne around here somewhere, right?” Bitty carried the food out to Kent’s table, gently pushing everyone into chairs and encouraging them to fill their plates all the while.

And it worked, for a while. Eventually, though, Liz, a tall woman with red hair pulled back in a loose ponytail who had been introduced as the head of the Ace’s PR team, said, “Ok, Kent. So, what the … what happened between the ‘I don’t want to come out for a couple years yet, unless I start dating’ of a couple weeks ago and whatever last night was. I thought we had an understanding that there would be plans in place. That this wouldn’t be something you let the organization be caught off guard by.”

Bitty felt himself bristle. “That was my fault,” he said in a rush.

“Bits, it’s ok,” Kent said. “I’ve known Bitty, uh Eric, for a while. He happened to be in town. We ran into each other out. I was careless. But I’m not going to deny this, so how about you just tell me what we need to do to spin this as well as we need to. I’m sure the Aces can capitalize on having the first openly out player and it’s not like I don’t have the C and didn’t lead our team to back to back cups a few years ago. So, yeah. You tell me what you want me to do going forward, but fuck you if you think you’re going to throw this in my face. Wasn’t on purpose, but it’s whatever now.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You’ll do what I say?”

Kent shrugged.

“Fine. Let’s start with you explaining what happened last night.”

“Why don’t y’all move into the living room and I’ll get this all cleaned up? Anyone need more coffee? No?” Bitty stood and started gathering plates. He met Jeff’s eyes and Jeff took the hint, doing likewise.

Bitty and Jeff listened in as Kent gave a very abbreviated version of what had happened the night before – saying only that they’d run into each other at a club and that Kent had offered to head out to grab food with Bitty to celebrate Bitty’s graduation. That they’d had a bit to drink and had been talking and having a good time and that he, Kent, had just been too relaxed to remember that he wasn’t in one of the team-approved clubs – one of the ones with membership requirements and NDAs.

As Stephen and Liz began to berate Kent, albeit in very business-like tones, Bitty made a frustrated noise.

“What?” Jeff asked.

“We were only there because of me. I told Kent about…uh. My boyfriend and I broke up a week ago. I think Kent maybe thought he needed to, I don’t know, amuse me for the evening.”

Bitty shoved aside the panic of realizing again that he’d outed someone in a way he’d always been afraid would happen to him – would happen to Jack while they were still together, and headed out to the living room. He met Kent’s eyes and nodded to the arm of the chair where he was sitting. Kent gave a small nod, so Bitty perched himself there and joined in the conversation.

“I mean, y’all must have had a plan for this. Kent’s not the only non-straight player in the league and y’all aren’t new at your jobs. So. Let’s just move on from what you think of the situation and look at what needs to happen now. It can’t be that hard to spin this in Kent’s favor. He has a rep as a playboy, anyway, right?” Kent made a noise of protest and Bitty looked down, “You do, honey. You know it and you like it, so hush.” He looked back to where the others were sitting. “So spin this differently. Kent and I have known each other for three years. There’s proof of that on Twitter. There’s got to be some leverage you can get out of two old friends going out on the town for the night.”

“What do you do, Eric?” James asked. He was typing on his phone and Bitty suspected he was looking Bitty himself up on twitter.

“I just finished my degree at Samwell and will be working in marketing – as the social media person – for an entertainment company in LA starting Tuesday.”

“How old are you?” Liz asked abruptly.

“Well I’m certainly not studious enough to have gone to college early,” Bitty said drily. At her unimpressed expression, he said, “Twenty-two as of three weeks ago.”

“Bits played hockey with Zimmerman,” Kent interjected. “You were on his line, right? Before he graduated anyway?”

Bitty nodded, looking down at Kent. “Yeah, I got a scholarship to play,” he said, turning back to Liz, “I came to hockey by way of figure skating – not that either one’s really normal in Georgia. I was captain of the Samwell team last year – we made it to the finals of the Frozen Four.”

Liz was quiet, but there was a calculating look in her eyes that made Bitty nervous. After a while, she said, “Kent’s said he’s willing to do what we tell him. What about you?”

“As long as Kent’s comfortable with it, I’ll do what I can.”

“How are you with children?” she asked.

Bitty tilted his head in confusion at the change of topic. “Uh. I was a camp counselor for four summers. Why?”

“We have a program for the Little Aces. We’re looking for someone to increase the visibility of the group and arrange events with the team with local hospitals and schools. You skate. You know hockey. Social media. Congratulations. You have a new job. And Kent, you have a new roommate. Bitty, your first day will be Monday and you’ll report directly to James.”

“I uh,” Bitty started.

“Don’t force him into this,” Kent said.

“It’s ok, honey,” Bitty said without thinking, laying a hand on Kent’s shoulder. “I mean, the job is fine. I can get my own place, though,” he turned back to Liz. “I assume this is so that you can show that Kent and I are friends?”

“I should have been clearer. For at least a couple months – it’s the off-season, so you should have plenty of time for this, Kent – I expect to see the two of you being the perfect couple in public. We could have spun it as friends if there were slightly fewer pics of the two of you cuddling in a booth and, at least from what it looked like, making out outside the restaurant. I could give two shits what you do in private, but while I’m not thrilled that we’re doing this backward, Eric appears to have a decent head on his shoulders despite what happened last night. Certainly his presence here this morning and behavior has been better than I was expecting out of one of your _friends_ , Kent.”

“Hey!” Jeff said.

She sent Jeff a withering look. “I’ll email Kent your employment contract, Eric. James, Stephen, is there anything else?”

Stephen shook his head and James said, “No, actually. This is great. I mean, not what lead to it, but camps start in a week and I was concerned that we weren’t going to be able to fill the position after all. I’m going to run back to the office and grab a couple of things. I assume you two will be here the rest of the day?”

“I was thinking I’d go back to my hotel,” Bitty said.

“You can stay here,” Kent said.

Bitty looked down. Kent just looked tired. “Ok, but I’ll still need to get my bags and check out. And, Lord. I’m going to have to quit a job I haven’t even started yet.”

“I’ll call Kent before I head back,” James stood, as did the other two. Jeff looked like he was settling in for the day.

Kent followed the Aces management team to the door, listening as Liz talked about sending a couple of statements to Kent for him to post and suggested he schedule something with the Aces that were still in town so that they could meet his new boyfriend.

Jeff watched Bitty watching Kent. Without a word, Bitty stood and walked back to Kent’s room, shaking his head. Jeff didn’t know the kid, but it seemed like maybe Bitty was blaming himself a bit, so when Kent returned, he nodded toward the bedroom where Bitty had just closed the door.

“I’ll be back. Can you text Russ and Foxie and whoever the hell else is here and see what they’re up to in the next couple days?”

Back in Kent’s room, Bitty was sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. He and Jack had always been so careful – he’d been used to being careful – understanding on a very personal level how devastating it could be to be outed before you were ready. Heavens, it had been hard enough to out himself to someone he was pretty sure would be understanding. Now? He’d outed someone before they were ready. And that someone was still playing a professional sport.

Bitty, struggling to draw an even breath, missed the bedroom door opening and started when Kent said, “If you don’t want to do this, just say. There’s not really much they can do. I mean, ok, there’s a ton of shit they could do, but they won’t. I’m good at what I do and they don’t have anyone to take my place. They’ll find a way to make a buck out of it without you if they need to.”

Bitty looked up, his voice breaking as he said, “Kent, I am so sorry! I didn’t mean – I didn’t _think_. I should have known better. This is all my fault.”

Kent frowned. “Dude. It’s fine. It’s not on you. It fucking sucks, but whatever. It’s over. I’ll get past it and now I don’t have to think about when. It’s fucking dumb I have to ‘come out’ at all or whatever. Like, why should it fucking matter?”

Bitty searched his face.

“Plus, that would have been worse if you, you know, had literally been anyone else I’ve ever hooked up with. Including Zimms. Love the guy, but he’s a fucking mess.”

Bitty huffed out a laugh. Jack had gotten better, but Bitty could definitely see what Kent would say that.

“So. Anyway. I have an extra room, so you’re welcome here temporarily or, you know, for as long as you’re working for the Aces. I don’t know if you heard, but Liz wants me to do a thing for you to meet some of the other Aces. A few of them will be involved in the summer camp. Jeff’s taking care of getting ahold of anyone still in town. I can take you to get your stuff or you can take my car and get it yourself.”

“Would you mind?”

“Letting you drive my car?”

Bitty nodded.

Kent shrugged, “Nah. You can drive stick, right?”

“Yeah. I mean, I’ve never driven a sports car, but Coach’s truck is a stick and that’s mostly what I drive when I go home.”

“Coach?”

“Uh, my father.”

Whatever Kent thought of that, all he said was, “Cool. Well. Why don’t you go grab your stuff and call the other job thing? If they were paying travel costs and you need to reimburse let me know. I’ll have the Aces cover it since you’re their employee now.”

“Kent, I, uh.”

Kent waved him off. “Not now. We can, like, sort this out later, but let’s just. Not. Right now, anyway.”

Bitty nodded and stood.

“Are those my jeans?” Kent asked.

Bitty felt himself flush. “Uh. Yeah. Mine pants were a little dirty after the drink spilling – and super wrinkled from wearing them most of the day yesterday. I wanted to make a good impression.”

Kent smirked, then started laughing at Bitty’s expression. “It’s cool. I just hadn’t realized it. Oh. Hey. If I tell you how to get to the store… can you make pie tonight?”

“Uh. Sure. What kind?”

“I fucking love strawberry rhubarb.”

“If I can find rhubarb, no problem.”

Kent smiled, then frowned, “Actually. Fuck. Wait. May need to hit the store later, so yeah. Just, uh, come back when you’re ready.”

Bitty gave Kent an amused look, then followed Kent back out to the front of the apartment.

Bitty slipped his shoes on and checked his pockets for his phone and wallet before taking the keys Kent handed him.

“The code to get back into the garage is 1296,” Kent said. “My car’s in spot 327. Let me put my number into your phone.”

“Thanks. I imagine I’ll be back within an hour. I’ll text you if there’s a delay.”

Kent nodded and Bitty ducked out. Kent detoured into the kitchen, grabbing a couple of beers before heading back in to where Jeff was sprawled in the living room. He handed one off then flopped over on to the couch.

“Russ and Foxie are free until Wednesday. Stubs, Beverly, and Langer said they can do tonight or next weekend. Everyone else is basically out of town until after the 4th. I mean, except the guys that are coming back for your party.”

Kent nodded.

“So your boy went to grab his stuff.”

Kent made a noise of protest.

“He’s your boy for now. You doing ok?”

Kent grunted.

“He doing ok?”

“I think he’s freaked about outing me. It’s why I let him take my car rather than go with him. Seemed like he needed a moment.”

Jeff dropped it at that. He’d been friends with Kent long enough to know when he wasn’t going to get more info out of the man. “So I’m thinking we get everyone over here later this evening. And, unless it’s fucking awful, which it won’t be, we make a plan to go out out with anyone available next weekend.”

Kent nodded. “It’s not too hot today. We could do a cookout on the roof. Hang out up there. Bitty and I can grab food when he gets back. And lunch.”

“Dude, his muffins were amazing.”

“I know. I mean, fuck me. Apparently his thing is pie, which is like. A thing.”

“Have you checked your messages?”

Kent shook his head, “Not since just after I woke up. Figure I might as well wait till I hear from Liz. Can’t really say anything until she sends me my options.” With that, Kent’s phone buzzed. “Speak of the devil.”

Jeff went back to his own phone and Kent assumed it was to fill in the guys as to the plan for the evening. Kent had just replied to Liz and posted her suggestion for his tweet when there was a knock at his door.

He frowned and went to get it. Bitty was there – without his bags.

“Uh?”

Bitty shoved a hand through his hair. “I called the hotel. They’re going to send my things here… I, um. I called to see about checking out over the phone since I didn’t want the extra charge for late checkout and they said that there were some reporters. So, yeah.”

“How’d they know where you were staying?”

“I tweeted from the hotel lobby when I checked in. I didn’t even think about it. And you, uh, tagged me in the pic you tweeted at dinner.”

“Oh.”

Bitty shrugged. “So. I’m back.”

“Beer?”

“Lord, yes. Yes, please.”

“Jeff got ahold of some of the guys. Up for meeting more people tonight?”

Bitty shrugged. “Sure. At least – I’m assuming meeting your teammates will be more on the fun side of things.”

“Yeah. I like ‘em. Except Jeff. He’s an asshole.”

“Fuck you, too,” Jeff called from the living room. “I’m a peach and you know it.”

“Keep thinking that,” Kent called back.

“So, we gonna go grab food?” Jeff said as Kent and Bitty walked into the living room Kent walked to the couch and settled back into it while Bitty perched on a chair.

“Like lunch?” Bitty asked.

It was Kent that replied. “Well, that, but also, like, there are going to be seven professional hockey players here for dinner, so I’m going to need to pick up more food. I mean, we could order pizza, but I was thinking we’d grill.”

Bitty took a long pull of his beer. “Right. Jeff, not to kick you out, but maybe Kent and I should go to the store by ourselves. We could eat lunch here. You know, maybe make it look like last night was not entirely unplanned? If we’re supposed to seem like a couple… that’s a pretty couple-y thing, right? Wait. No. I should wait for my bags. And James is coming back, right?”

“James will call first,” Kent reminded him.

“Right.”

“I could stay and wait for your bags,” Jeff offered. “Kent has better beer than I do anyway.”

Bitty looked to Kent who shrugged in response. “Alright. Do y’all want lunch now or should we go get stuff for later first?”

“Let’s have lunch when we get back,” Kent said. “Jeff, can we take your truck?”

“Sure. Your car sure as fuck won’t work if you want to bring back more than whatever will fit on Eric’s lap while you drive.”

Kent let that go and made his way back to his room to grab shoes. He heard Bitty ask if Jeff had any requests or a favorite type of pie.

_X_

Six hours later Kent and Jeff were half-heartedly watching the Yankees game. Bitty’s stuff had been deposited in one of Kent’s guest rooms and he was in there unpacking and going over a couple of the things James had brought back with him for Monday and making a call to quit his LA job. There were two pies in the oven – a strawberry rhubarb and a mixed berry – and a third (pecan) on the stovetop cooling. Jeff had made a marinade for the chicken and steak for kababs and everything else was just waiting for people to arrive.

It had been awkward at first, grocery shopping with Bitty. They’d both been hesitant in a way that they hadn’t been the night before. It had been Bitty who addressed it before they got out of the car.

“Look. Not to make this extra weird, but at least until we get used to each other, I’m basically just going to pretend that you’re Jack.”

Kent had felt himself stiffen.

“No! Sorry. That came out wrong. I just meant… I’m going to treat you the way I treated Jack while we were dating. Except, like, not the way we were in public because that won’t really help the whole dating thing. We were pretty careful to be really bro-y, you know, when we were out.”

Kent relaxed. “Cool. I’ll, uh, follow your lead. I don’t. I haven’t dated anyone in a long time. My rep is a little exaggerated, but not wrong, you know.”

Bitty nodded. “Come on then, handsome. Let’s go buy some food to feed your friends.”

The shopping itself had been an experience. Kent had followed behind bemused as Bitty replaced what he’d used that morning, then grabbed chicken, steak, a variety of vegetables, what seemed like 10 pounds of butter, fruits, and spices, all the while chattering at Kent while Kent pushed the cart along behind him. When he was done throwing stuff into their cart, he looped his hand around Kent’s elbow.

“Now, these are your friends, so I’m going to let you buy all of this,” Bitty said, grinning up at Kent. “But let me know how you want to split up rent and groceries while I’m staying with you, ok?”

Kent had bumped his hip against Bitty’s. “We’ll figure it out, but I’m not worried.”

They weren’t recognized until Bitty walked back to the car after returning the cart.

A girl with a nose ring and purple hair approached Kent where he was leaning against the back of the car, waiting for Bitty. “Are you Kent Parson?”

“Uh, yeah,” Kent said.

“Can I get a picture?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Y’all want me to take that for you?” Bitty asked while Kent and his fan tried to get a good angle for the selfie.

“Oh! Are you – you two were out together last night, right? Can you be in the picture too?”

Bitty had looked to Kent who just shrugged. Kent took the picture and she tagged him. He in turn retweeted it and tagged Bitty, thanked her for her support, and then headed back to his apartment.

James had called on their way there. Kent had set James and Bitty up in what passed as an office while he and Jeff had prepped the meat and put on the game. An hour and a half later, Bitty was bidding James goodbye and promising to see him Monday at 9.

Bitty had wandered into the kitchen and twenty minutes later returned to the living room, handing off sandwiches before settling himself on the floor in front of where Kent was sitting.

“You made sandwiches?” Kent had asked.

“Yeah?” Bitty said, looking back at him. “I put the pie crusts in the fridge to chill. Was guessing you hadn’t eaten yet.”

“Huh.”

“What did you do to this?” Jeff asked, mouth full.

Bitty looked over at him, “Nothing? It’s just a chicken sandwich. Tomato, lettuce, a little grainy mustard and provolone. Salt. Pepper. Red onion.”

“I’m moving in,” Jeff said, looking at Kent.

“Like fuck you are,” Kent replied, mouth half-full.

Bitty laughed.

“What?” Kent asked.

“Nothing. Just. After graduating I thought I’d miss the whole hanging out with hockey bros, but I think this might end up being the perfect transition.”

A little while later, Bitty had gotten up to head back to the kitchen, taking their plates with him. Once he had the fruit pies in the oven, he had retreated to his room and Jeff and Kent had been watching TV from the couch ever since.

“Hey – where’s Kit?” Jeff asked.

“Huh. I haven’t seen her in a while. I’m going to go check. There’s been a lot of activity today, so she may be hiding.”

Kent levered himself up and wandered down the hallway toward his room. Her favorite hiding space was in his closet. Bitty’s door was open as he walked and as he looked in he saw Bitty sitting against the headboard, one hand running through Kit’s fur while he browsed on his phone.

Bitty looked up as Kent stopped. “There was a stowaway in my luggage.”

“Yeah, she likes clean clothes.” Kent kept the _but doesn’t usually tolerate other people touching her_ to himself.

“She’s cuter in person – much like you.”

Kent threw his head back with a surprised laugh. “Fine. Be like that.”

Bitty grinned.

“Anyway. People should be here in a bit.”

Barely were the words out of Kent’s mouth when there was a pounding at his door. Bitty’s eyebrows went up. Kent closed his eyes and shook his head.

“Excuse me. Apparently my teammates have lost their damn minds.”

Kent went back down the hall shouting. Bitty shifted Kit, curling her against his pillows, and followed. Kent was greeting his teammates, so Bitty slipped past, running a soft hand across Kent’s lower back, just to let him know that someone was behind him.

He was almost in the kitchen when someone – _Russ_ Bitty thought, glad he’d taken a quick moment to look through the team info James had dropped off – said, “Wait. Is that your fucking secret boyfriend, Parse?”

Bitty turned, stepping up to Kent’s left side, and offered a quick wave. “Hi, y’all. I’m Eric Bittle – Bitty to my friends and teammates.”

“Teammates?” Stubs parroted.

“Well, I guess former teammates now. I just graduated, but I played hockey at Samwell. That’s actually where I met Kent initially.”

“Oooh. Keeennntt,” Foxie said, falsetto.

“Fuck you,” Kent replied.

“Come on in, y’all. No need to stand in the doorway. If you’ll excuse me, I have a couple pies to take out of the oven. They’re smelling ready.” He gave Kent’s arm one last pat and went into the kitchen.

“Man, Rami’s gonna be so jealous. Have you heard his thing about pie?”

“Dude, everyone’s heard his thing about pie.”

It had gone as well as Kent could have possibly hoped. Bitty was charming – friendly, but with enough backbone to chirp back as good as he got. It was late when everyone left, full and in good spirits. Beverly had convinced Kent, Russ, and Bitty to meet him at the rink the next morning to skate and shortly thereafter he and Jeff had left. The others had left just behind those two.

“I’m going to make a cup of tea and go through my notifications,” Bitty said as Kent closed the door behind their last guest. “Want one?”

“Uh, sure. But I don’t think I have tea.”

“I bought some earlier.”

“Oh. Cool. Yeah, thanks. I’ll grab my phone, too. I should probably look at everything. I mean, the big stuff PR will handle, but. Fuck. I…should have called my mom.”

Bitty’s eyes got big. “Oh, Lord. Mama’s gonna kill me. Tomorrow morning, Kent, before we go to the rink. We have to call.”

“Yeah. Good call. Tomorrow morning.”

The ended up curled up together on the couch while they checked messages. Bitty scanned through notifications looking for names he recognized and checked those messages. Everything else could wait. He had a feeling he’d be blocking some people once he read through the rest of the mentions he’d had.

Holster and Ransom had both messaged him again, later in the day. It looked like maybe Jack had said something to them. There were several messages in the group chat, too, but only at the beginning of the day. After that it had devolved into a series of chirps over, apparently, sunchips and why Chowder’s love of French onion meant he had no soul. 


	2. We should take this back to my place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So what happened the night before?

Bitty hung the garment bag in the closet, then pulled out his phone to double check his appointments. To that point, everything had gone to plan, so he had a couple of hours before he needed to head out to take a tour of the first conference center. There were three potential venues he was supposed to see today and four Monday morning before Sharon got in to meet him. They’d visit his top three and take a look at contracts and pricing together.

He was excited about it – about the job. It had been a fluke that he got it at all. He had seen the company’s tweet about the opening and had sent them a video response. It wasn’t the most glamorous thing, but he’d done it on his own and as far as he could tell, they were more than happy to teach him what he needed to know and those skills would help him with whatever came next.

He felt a small pang as he remembered the other part of taking the job in LA and everything it meant, then ruthlessly shoved it away. There would be time enough for that. Now, though, he needed to grab a quick shower, change clothes, and head to the first meeting.

He decided to go for the navy suit. He carefully gelled his hair, debated only momentarily before pulling out the white shirt with small grey dots, navy vest, and open plaid bow tie. The vest was maybe more than he really needed for these meetings, but he liked the way it looked. He left the jacket over his arm as he did one final check in the mirror, grabbed his wallet and phone, and made his way down to the lobby. According to the app, his Lyft would be there in 2 minutes.

As he stood talking to the events manager at his final stop for the day, it occurred to him that she might have a good suggestion for a place for dinner. He was all for exploring new places, but wasn’t sure he wanted the stereotypical Vegas experience. At least, not this time.

Tara extoled the virtues of Marche Bacchus, but mentioned it could be hard to get in without a reservation.

“There’s a group of us going out tonight. Want to come?” she offered.

“Uh, what time?”

“We’ll be leaving from here in, like, 20? Grab a quick bite, then heading to this thing. I don’t really know what it is, exactly, but one of the other girls knows a guy who does a thing,” she seemed to realise what she had just said when she caught the half baffled, half confused look on Bitty’s face. “I promise it won’t suck?”

Bitty laughed. “I believe you. I’ll just hang out here, then?” Bitty said, waving a hand at the benches in the lobby.

“Sure. We’ll be down soon. Did you need a drink or anything while you wait?”

“I’m good. Thanks, though!” Bitty waved her off and made his way to a chair tucked under a palm.

The “quick bite” had ended up being olives in a martini. The vague thing turned out to be the boyfriend of one of the women in market dj-ing in a club that was… fine. The plus side had been being on the list and getting to miss paying cover. The downside was the price of the drinks and the overwhelming straightness of it. Not that Bitty was trying for anything, but it would be nice to look and maybe be looked at.

As the group he was with crowded around to look at the screen of a single phone, he shook his empty glass and said he was going to the bar. When no one responded, he didn’t offer to bring anything back. He was leaning against the bar, waiting for his drink and looking around at guys who caught his interest, when someone came up behind him, slid a hand to his hip, and said, “Hey cutie.”

He turned and felt his eyes widen.

“Kent Parson,” he said, the words out of his mouth almost before he registered who was behind him.

“Holy shit. Bittle, right? From Samwell?” Something complicated flashed through Kent’s eyes and there was a mutual look that said that there was maybe a slightly more direct reason Kent knew who Bitty was despite three years and minimal contact.

“Yeah. Hey.” As Bitty grasped for a way to ask why Kent was in this bar of all places, on a Friday night, he realized Tara was at his shoulder.

“Hey, looks like you found a friend. I was just going to stop by to let you know we’re going to head out.”

“Oh. Uh. Ok?” Bitty said, too surprised to explain that he and Kent weren’t really friends or indicate he was ready to leave to, despite the new drink waiting for him on the bar.

He and Kent watched them weave their way out of the crowd, then looked back at each other. Bitty felt awkward. Kent seemed to be smirking. Possibly that was just his face. It was hard to tell.

After what was a beat too long of just staring at each other, Kent asked, “Dance?”

Bitty nodded, downed his drink, and let Kent tug him along after. They joined the mass of moving bodies, not dancing with each other exactly, but not not either. Kent moved well and the part of Bitty that had to acknowledge that he didn’t actually know the other man could appreciate the way Kent matched his pace.

Over Kent’s shoulder Bitty caught sight of a guy trying too hard to impress the woman opposite him and leaned in to point it out to Kent. Kent reversed their positions, standing so that he is facing the couple, Bitty facing the same direction in front of him. Without the visual of who he was dancing with, Bitty relaxed a bit, letting Kent control their pace for a moment.

As Bitty turned back to face Kent, the song changed and Bitty’s nose wrinkled in distaste – then Bitty laughed as he found a similar expression on Kent’s face.

“I know better clubs,” Kent said, leaning in, lips to Bitty’s ear, “since your friends left.”

Bitty wrapped his hand around Kent’s hip so that he could get a little closer, making it easier to lean up to respond, “Honestly, I was thinking I might head back to my hotel. I’m kinda hungry.”

“I know a place, if you feel like staying out,” Kent offered. They were still moving to the beat.

Bitty thought it was probably more than a little reckless to agree, but he found himself nodding anyway. So far Kent had seemed remarkably nice and Jack had always been a little vague about Kent, but much of the negative could be softened by how young they’d both been.

Kent looked as surprised as Bitty was that Bitty had agreed, but took it in stride. He turned to lead the way out and Bitty hooked a finger through Kent’s belt loop without thinking so that he could follow easier. Bitty broke off briefly to retrieve his bag from the coat check.

Kent’s phone was out when Bitty stepped outside and a quick glance told Bitty that Kent was ordering a car and he wondered if he should clarify what, exactly, Kent was thinking.

He didn’t need to ask though. Kent explained, without looking up from the screen, “I know this great tapas place. They usually have live music. It’s not crazy far, but I don’t want to walk. Sound ok?” He looked over.

Bitty nodded, “Sounds good.”

“Cool.” Kent finished and tucked his phone back into his pocket.

“So,” Kent seemed to be going for casual, but mostly missed. “What brings you to Vegas?”

“Job, actually. The women I was with – well, Tara specifically, was my last meeting today. She’s the events manager at one of the venues I was checking out for a convention in the fall. I’m here through Monday and have the weekend free. Four more meetings Monday morning, then on to LA.” Bitty said in a rush, realizing he was babbling but unable to do anything to stop himself without ending awkwardly.

Kent didn’t seem to think anything amiss, looking off for a moment before looking back and asking laconically, “Jack with you?”

Bitty shook his head. He opened his mouth to say more, but it seemed like the wrong time, so instead he went with, “What are you up to tonight?”

Kent frowned momentarily, then shrugged. “Spending an evening on the town with you, apparently.”

“How’d you end up here?”

Kent shrugged again. “So, like, do you usually wear a suit when you hit the clubs back east?”

“What?” Bitty looked down. He’d forgotten that he was still wearing his suit. Lord, it was going to need to be cleaned. “Uh, no. I – like I said, meetings. I just didn’t make it back to the hotel to change before we went out.”

“You should lose the jacket.”

“What am I going to do with it if I’m not wearing it?”

“I don’t know? Carry it? Shove it in your bag?”

Bitty rolled his eyes, but shrugged out of the jacket, holding it out for Kent to take while he rolled up his shirt sleeves. Satisfied, he took the jacket back, rolled it carefully, and tucked it into his messenger bag.

In short order they were tucked into a small table at a rooftop bar with a pitcher of sangria and a plate with olives, cheeses, and thinly sliced meats.

“So, you have a job that brought you to Vegas?”

“Yeah, I guess technically I started today. We’re looking at locations for a conference this fall. My boss is meeting me here Monday, so I have the weekend in Vegas to myself and then I’ll be in LA on Tuesday and for the foreseeable.”

“That’s a sweet gig.”

“Yeah, I think it could be really great. I got lucky. I don’t really have the experience they’re looking for, but it seems cool.”

“So, I don’t remember. Did you just graduate or did you graduate last year?”

“This year – just a few weeks ago.”

“Cool. So, celebrating tonight, then?”

“Eh. I’ve celebrated as much as I need to for now, honestly. So, how’s Kit enjoying having more of your time again?”

Kent launched into a story about Kit’s antics that had Bitty laughing as they ate their first plate, only pausing his story when it was time to chose the next couple things to try.

It was good – relaxing and fun. Somewhere around the end of the second pitcher of sangria, Kent asked, “So, you and Jack? I’m not making up that that’s a thing, right?”

“Uh, no. It was a thing. It’s… not now.”

Kent stiffened. “Oh?”

Bitty sighed. “I don’t know. But the short part of it is that I took a job in LA and Jack lives in Providence.”

Bitty could see that Kent wanted to ask questions, but appreciated that instead Kent seemed to force himself back into an utterly relaxed place as he said instead, “So is this a ‘drink so much I don’t remember tonight in the morning’ sort of evening or a ‘drink enough to make questionable decisions, but not feel like ass in the morning’?”

“Uh, the second, I think.”

Kent nodded. “Good plan.” Kent refilled Bitty’s glass and nodded when the server mimed a fresh pitcher before launching into another story about it.

Halfway through the third pitcher, Bitty leaned forward. “Oh, my god. You have to come sit on this side.”

Kent quirked an eyebrow.

“No, seriously. You can’t turn around without being obvious, but you have to watch this… date? Honestly, I’m not sure what’s going on.”

Kent slid around to the other side of the table and onto the bench where Bitty was sitting. It was a tight squeeze for the two of them, but a quick glance up told Kent what Bitty was looking at and he curved in to Bitty’s shoulder with a laugh.

“Fuck. They could not be more obvious if they tried.”

“Is she really trying to…?”

Kent straightened slightly, an arm slung behind Bitty. “Yes.”

“With her…”

“Uh huh.”

Bitty was quiet for a moment. “Does she realise there’s not a tablecloth?”

Kent shrugged and took a drink, “Apparently not.”

“Bless her heart.”

Kent expected Bitty to move away or tell him to go back to the other side, but instead Bitty seemed to sort of snuggle in and Kent had a brief moment of enjoying not having to guess if Bitty even liked men – nor having to explain that he, Kent, definitely did.

Bitty wasn’t really sure what they talked about for the next three hours, but as the lateness of the hour caught up with him, he was relaxed and having a good time. He yawned and let his head tip to rest on Kent’s shoulder.

“Ok, sleeping beauty. Time to get you home?”

“Yours or mine?” Bitty asked, eyes drifting closed only to open and slide to look at Kent.

“Uh.”

“Cuz I don’t have a home right now,” Bitty continued, closing his eyes again. “Not till next Wednesday. But! I have a hotel. Is the hotel my home?”

“I mean, you can come home with me.”

Bitty’s eyes drifted open, “Yeah, alright.”

If Kent was surprised, he hid it. If he was expecting more than for Bitty to crash on his couch or in a guest room, it wasn’t on his face.

While they waited for the car Kent had ordered, Bitty leaned against Kent and Kent wrapped his arms around Bitty’s waist. In a human-contact-is-good sort of way, Bitty very much appreciated it.

Standing in Kent’s kitchen a short time later, Bitty was slowly sobering up and wondering how the hell he’d ended up in Kent Parson’s kitchen.

Kent Parson had bought his dinner, “I owe you dinner,” Bitty said, setting his glass of water on the counter.

“Huh?” Kent said, looking up from his phone.

“You bought dinner. I owe you dinner.”

“Oh.” Kent let a sly look cross his face and Bitty felt himself tense. “I mean, you could just make me a pie. I hear they’re pretty good.”

Bitty made a noise of outrage. “Excuse you. They’re amazing. I have it on good authority.”

“Oh? Whose?”

“Tater, for one.”

Kent snorted. “Ok. But also he’ll eat anything.”

Bitty picked his water back up and finished it, then filled his glass again. Halfway through that, he found his courage to ask what, exactly, Kent thought they were doing.

“Drinking water,” Kent said.

Bitty rolled his eyes. “Ok, fine. Look. I know maybe it seemed like I was up for something, but honestly, it’s been a long day. It’s been a long couple weeks. And I’m tired. And now that we’re here, I’m also a little weirded out. So. I can go, if you want. But nothing’s happening regardless.”

Kent shrugged. “I mean, I’m hot. And you’re pretty fucking cute. Pretty sure both those things will be true in the morning,” Kent smirked. Then his expression shifted, softening slightly, “And I get it, you know. We could, I don’t know. Cuddle? I wasn’t actually expecting anything either way.”

“My hotel is pretty far away,” Bitty replied, searching Kent’s face. “Just cuddling?”

Kent nodded. “Staying then?”

“Yeah…”

“Cool.” Kent set his phone down on the counter next to his glass of water and made his way down the hall. “Coming?” He called.

Kent had stripped down to a pair of plain black boxer briefs by the time Bitty made it back the room. He yawned as he untied his bowtie, then unbuttoned first his vest then his button down, pulling both off, eyes mostly closed. He heard Kent leave the room, heard lights being shut off. As he stepped out of his pants, folding them with everything else and setting it on the chair in the corner of Kent’s room, he heard Kent come back into the room.

“There’s an extra toothbrush by the sink,” Kent said as Bitty opened his eyes to look at Kent.

“You keep extra toothbrushes?”

“I have rookies stay with me pretty regularly. One of the perks of being captain, you know?”

Bitty focused, waking slightly at that, “Oh. Right. Thanks.” Bitty made his way in to the bathroom, brushing his teeth, washing his face, talking to himself in the mirror, the usual pre-bed things, then made his way back into the room.

Kent brushed past him, heading into the bathroom. Bitty wondered if he should wait and find out what side Kent preferred, but the setup told him that Kent probably slept closer to the bathroom, generally, so he left his phone on the table there and went around to the far side of the bed and got in.

Bitty was sound asleep by the time Kent came back out and Kent wondered, very briefly, what the fuck he’d been thinking to invite his ex’s ex to spend the night. In his bed. He had two perfectly good guest rooms.

As long as Jack never found out, maybe it would be fine. Kent flicked off the light and went to sleep, trying to ignore the way his heart stuttered when Bitty sleepily curled into him, tucking his head under Kent’s chin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (i can be found on tumblr as awkwardtiming or @wkwardtiming on twitter. love y'all.)


	3. 1 Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kent and Bitty wake up, talk to their moms, and go about their day.

Bitty woke up the next morning to the smell of coffee and the sound of Katy Perry and had a moment of being thoroughly disoriented before remembering where he was and realizing that it meant that Kent was awake. He stretched, then sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, grabbing his phone and making his way out of the room. Kent was in the kitchen feeding Kit, cooing over her as she made her way to her bowl. Once she’d settled in to eat, he straightened up and Bitty said good morning.

Kent turned. “Oh, hey. Coffee?”

Bitty nodded and Kent handed him a mug, gesturing to the waiting container of half and half and sugar. Bitty smiled his thanks and made his coffee. After a couple of fortifying sips, Bitty asked, “Phone calls before or after breakfast?”

“Fuck it. I want to say after.” Kent continued with a wry twist to his lips, “But I’ll just find a reason to delay, so before.”

Bitty nodded. “Mind if I cook while I call Mama? I was thinking I’d make omelettes?”

“Knock yourself out, kid,” Kent replied, grinning at the scowl on Bitty’s face. “I’m going to step out,” he nodded in the direction of his balcony, “but should be back in within, like, 20 minutes max.”

Bitty nodded and waved him on. Bitty heard Kent pad his way out onto the balcony as he pulled what he wanted from the refrigerator. He thought about throwing together biscuits, but found a loaf of whole grain bread that looked good and decided to go with that. There would be other mornings for biscuits, probably.

Everything out, he called his mother, slicing the tomatoes as the phone rang.

She answered on the second ring and launched straight in. “Eric Richard Bittle. It is about time you called your mother. I’ve been fretting something fierce. Couldn’t you have found five minutes to call me yesterday, sugar?” Her voice had softened by the end and Bitty felt some of the tension seep out of his shoulders. “How are you, honey? And who is this boy of yours?”

“Hi, Mama. I’m sorry. Yesterday was a little bit crazy. He’s,” Bitty started to say that Kent wasn’t his anything, but that was a secret he didn’t really need to make his mother carry too. He cleared his throat, “Kent is a friend of Jack’s. They played together when they were younger. I met him a few years ago at Samwell.”

He wasn’t sure what else to say. It hardly looked good to say he’d gone from dating Jack to dating Jack’s friend and his mother knew he and Jack had broken up. Still, it wasn’t like he’d gone to Vegas to seek Kent out.

She took pity on him after a moment, “I’m sure it was nice for you to find a friend in Vegas while you’re there for the weekend, Dicky. Y’all took some sort of photos though, Lord.”

He half-laughed as he cracked eggs into a bowl. “Yeah, they caught some moments, that’s for sure. We weren’t even doin’ anything, Mama. Just talking – watchin’ the other people there. It’s all angles and,” he shook his head. “It looked like more than it was. But, um. I’m going to be staying in Vegas for a bit. The Aces want me to work with their PR team on a couple of things this summer and it’s a really great opportunity.”

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea to quit a job you haven’t started, sugar.”

“I actually talked to the company I was going to be working for. Because I’ll be learning the ropes with the Aces and this is a temporary thing, they said to touch base in a couple months. They’re not holding the job, but if they still have an opening they said this wouldn’t count against me.”

“That’s some kind of luck, then.”

“It really is, Mama.” Bitty heard the door start to open only to close again immediately. “And I am sorry I didn’t call you yesterday, but we had to meet with Kent’s manager and the people from the Aces. It was a full day and late by the time I realized I hadn’t called you.”

“That’s alright. I was just worried about you, Dicky. Are you going to be staying with Jack’s friend?”

“Yeah, I’ll be staying with Kent for now at least. He’s got a couple extra rooms and offered to let me use one.”

“How does Jack feel about all this?”

“Uh – he seemed ok. He called me yesterday before I realized what all had happened and… yeah. I think he’s fine.” Bitty felt a bit of resentment that his mother was so concerned about Jack’s feelings, but he supposed it shouldn’t have surprised him. And, well, it’s not like he’d suddenly stopped loving Jack. He shook his head and asked his mother after their neighbors, letting her prattle on while he finished the omelet and made toast.

When he heard the door open and Kent step back inside, he said goodbye to his mother and ended the call.

“Everything ok?” Bitty asked.

Kent nodded. “You?”

Bitty shrugged, “Good enough. They’re on their way out to church now. Hungry?”

“Hell yes. Should be quick though. Bev just called. Apparently they want to meet earlier so that we can go to lunch at some place that closes at, like, 2.”

“Well then we better get a wiggle on, huh?”

_X_

That evening, after a light dinner, Kent and Bitty went up to the rooftop pool to swim and lounge. They talked idly about TV shows, family, hobbies, and the existence of aliens. They made arrangements for the next morning. Kent offered to rent a car for Bitty for however long he ended up in Vegas and Bitty said he’d think about it once he found out what the job would entail and what the hours would be like.

“Ok, I think I’m ready to be in my pjs,” Bitty said, sitting up in his chair

“Sounds good,” Kent replied standing. “Want to watch something before bed?”

Bitty nodded and stretched, then grabbed his towel and their glasses.

Back at Kent’s, Bitty went to his room and took a quick shower to rinse off the saltwater, changed, answered a couple of texts and headed back out.

Kent had apparently also showered, but had also made popcorn and grabbed a couple of beers from his fridge.

“I thought you’d maybe want one too?”

Bitty nodded and, as he sat, realized he’d been less talkative with Kent than he usually was. He tried to sort out why. It wasn’t that Kent hadn’t been friendly or that Bitty was still holding a grudge for whatever had happened between Kent and Jack before. And, yes, he could admit now that when Jack had first talked about his relationship with Kent, Bitty had resented the hell out of this other person who had known Jack before and had made Jack so upset not-so-long-ago.

He just didn’t want to talk. Kent didn’t seem to mind, though, which was kind of nice. It was nice to have someone around who had, essentially, no pre-conceived notion of what Bitty was like. Someone who seemed to realise on instinct that Bitty wanted to be distracted. Ignore most things for a while.

And then Kent interrupted Bitty in the middle of a story about Nursey tripping and upending a tray of cupcakes that had been on a table across the room.

“So, I’m not going to, like, ask or whatever, but if you need to talk, we can. Unrelated, I really want to kiss you and it’s whatever, but I don’t want to be the rebound for my ex’s ex, you know?”

Bitty stared at Kent for a moment, then took a sip of his beer and nodded before turning back to the movie. He heard Kent sigh and felt him relax again. As the movie neared its climax, Bitty said, “You wouldn’t be.”

“Huh?”

“A rebound. It’s not that I’m not sad, but you wouldn’t be a rebound. I don’t. That’s not a thing I do. Not that I have a lot of, you know, dating experience, but I’m not looking for a hookup or whatever.”

“I don’t know if I’d know something other than a hookup if it bit my ass.”

“You haven’t exactly been in this easiest place to date, sugar.”

“Guys manage it, though.”

“Yeah, but most of those guys who, you know, like guys, date someone they’ve known for a while. It’s harder to pick someone up if you can’t be honest about your interest. Besides, as far as the world is concerned, we’re dating now.”

They were quiet again and stayed like that until the movie ended.

Kent gathered up their empty bottles and the empty bowl of popcorn, leaving Bitty flipping through the list of recommended movies. It wasn’t late, exactly, but Bitty was starting his new job the next morning and had been talking about wanting to go to bed early, so Kent didn’t think Bitty was actually going to want to watch another movie. Sure enough, he heard his entertainment system click off.

Bitty padded into the kitchen. “I want to sleep with you,” Bitty said softly.

Kent nodded. “Sure. I’m always up for a good cuddle.”

Bitty flushed and cleared his throat, “No, I mean. I want. I want. You said you want to kiss me and all I can think is that I want to do a hell of a lot more than kiss you. So, cards on the table, I want to sleep with you. Have sex. I want. I was worried, after you said the thing about being a rebound, that it was that somehow, but it’s really not. I think, if this had happened but without my whole mess with Jack, I think I’d have tried to convince you last night, even though Shitty would lecture me so hard about consent and the inability to give consent when drunk. We weren’t that drunk.”

“No, we weren’t,” Kent said.

When Kent didn’t say anything further, Bitty sighed and nodded, almost to himself. “Ok, so I guess I’ll just go to bed then.”

“Wait,” Kent said, snagging the hem of Bitty’s t-shirt as he turned to go. As Bitty turned back, Kent stepped forward, crowding Bitty up against the wall and gave in to the now-constant urge to kiss him.

They slotted together more easily than Kent would have imagined. Bitty was shorter than Kent, but not by much. Slender, but not thin. He felt solid and so real that Kent almost wanted to cry. It had been so long since he’d been able to have this with someone who actually knew who he was and wasn’t under NDA.

Kent had been prepared to suggest they not jump straight into bed after their first kiss, but when Bitty simultaneously pushed up on his toes to deepen the kiss and slid his hands under Kent’s shirt to pull him closer, Kent gave in.

He slid his hands along the outside of Bitty’s hips and under his thighs, lifting him in a smooth motion that had Bitty letting out a brief huff of air.

Kent pulled away from the kiss and pressed his lips briefly to the underside of Bitty’s jaw.  “Bed?” he murmured without moving his head.

“Bed,” Bitty replied, tightening his legs around Kent’s waist.

Later that night, with Bitty curled against him, Kent found himself wide awake and thinking.

The thing was, he’d had a lot of sex. A lot of pretty good sex. He wasn’t sure he’d ever had sex that was fun.

But sex with Bitty had been fun.

Once in Kent’s room, Bitty had asked, “What do you want?”

Kent, without thinking, had replied, “A pony.”

Bitty snorted, but then seemed to give it some consideration. “I mean, that seems excessive for a first time. And where would you keep it? What would Kit think?”

Kent had snorted in turn, burying his head in Bitty’s shoulder briefly, then tugging his shirt over his head. Bitty returned the favour, pulling at Kent’s shirt until there was skin on skin.

It was going really well until Bitty tripped while trying to kick his pants off, landing roughly on the floor.

Kent’s fingers stilled on his own pants as he looked down at Bitty. “Admit it. You’re falling for me.”

Bitty huffed and got back to his feet. “You are terrible Kent Parson. Terrible. And you have no game.”

“Um, excuse you, I get paid for my game.”

“Honestly, with as slow as you are, I’m surprised you still have a job, then,” Bitty raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly at Kent’s still-very-much-on pants.

Kent snorted and shoved his pants down.

“Well hello there,” Bitty said.

Kent had grinned and when Bitty looked back up, Kent stalked toward Bitty, urging him backward onto the bed. With Bitty sprawled below him, Kent had been struck by the beauty of the man in front of him.

“God you’re pretty.”

Bitty had flushed down to his chest, “You’re not so bad yourself, sugar.” He reached up and ran gentle fingers along Kent’s ribs.

Kent leaned in again, kissing along the column of Bitty’s neck, following the blush down across Bitty’s collar bones, nipping slightly at the curve of his shoulder, then soothing it with a gentle kiss. When Bitty’s hands buried themselves in Kent’s hair, tugging slightly, Kent gave a quick moan and surged up to kiss him again.

Bitty took advantage of the change in position, linking his legs around Kent’s back again and, somehow, improbably, flipping them so that he was on top of Kent. He pressed a kiss to Kent’s neck and set a slow, insistent rhythm with his hips.

“This ok?”

“So ok.”

Bitty smiled and Kent could feel the curve of lips against his neck. He ran his hands down Bitty’s back, settling on Bitty’s hip and encouraging the rhythm. It was as easy as dancing had been Friday night. It was easy to settle into Bitty’s rhythm.

He could tell when Bitty started to get close and reached between them to get his hand around both, knowing he’d need the extra pressure to get there.

Bitty had panted in his ear, short little ah-ah-ahs and while Kent would have said that he wasn’t there yet, when he felt Bitty tense above him, he went off like a fire-cracker with Bitty following right behind. When it seemed like Bitty was going to slide off of him, Kent tightened his arms. Bitty gave in with a huff, his cheek resting against Kent’s sternum.

After a while, when his breathing had slowed to an acceptable level, Kent said, “That was better than it should have been.”

“Mmmhmm.”

“If we stay like this, we’re going to be glued together in the morning.”

“Mmm hmmm.”

“I was thinking about asking Brittany if she’d have a love child with me.”

“Mmm huh. What?” Bitty raised up slightly to look at Kent, adorably confused.

“Seemed like you were falling asleep on me. Literally.”

“Someone wouldn’t let me slide to the side like a normal person.”

“You make a good blanket. Not too heavy.”

“You’re not funny, Kent Parson.”

“Maybe not, but I have a hella nice shower and we should clean up before bed.”

Bitty’s nose wrinkled and Kent had the urge to kiss it. “Yeah.” After a moment, Bitty levered himself up and Kent followed. They moved around each other easily, passing soap back and forth. It helped that Kent had a truly ridiculously sized shower in his bathroom, but it was easy. Companionable. Nice.

They got out, dried off. Bitty had made a sort of inquiring noise nodding toward the guest room. Kent had rolled his eyes and tugged Bitty back to bed with him. Bitty had fallen asleep almost immediately.

Which left Kent where he was now. Wide awake, staring at the ceiling, wondering if he was really stupid enough to fall for yet another person who wouldn’t stay around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you thought I forgot. I did not.

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure how long this will end up being. If you're seeing this for the first time: when originally posted, this story asked readers to pick the relationship. Each option got a good number of votes, but the winner was PBJ. I may, at some point, do side stories that end the other ways. No promises though.
> 
> If you're rereading. Chapters 1 & 2 have had slight changes made, including removing a piece from ch 1 that will appear later in the story now.


End file.
